Title

'Phaa Koei' (Funeral banner) with 'tree of life' design

Artists

Unknown Artist

About

This funerary banner ('phaa koei') has been made in a style associated with Sam Nuea province in Laos. Such banners are hung in the cemetery for the duration of the funerary ceremony, which lasts for three to nine days depending on the wealth of the family. The decorative motifs include the tree of life, the double arrow, flowers, and birds, and they are woven with multi-coloured threads using the discontinuous supplementary weft technique. The warp threads are varying shades of a pinkish-brown, and the weft threads are varying shade of pinkish-red.